Hard to Breathe
by sourulfur
Summary: Something is seriously wrong with Stiles Stilinski, and somehow, Danny Mahealani has found himself being pulled into it. He doesn't like it, but he's found himself worrying about Stiles. Maybe now he'll finally learn the truth of what's going on in town.
1. Chapter 1

Sometimes, it felt like he was back in that tub of ice water, like his chest was on fire and there was water in his throat. He would scratch at the surface, try to dig his way out only to eventually sit up in his own bed with a deep, shaky gasp for air that rattled in his chest. He did not always remember what his nightmares were about, but there were always tears in his eyes when he stumbled to the bathroom to take a shower in an attempt to wash away all the evidence of what kind of night it had been. It was difficult to pretend like everything was okay when he'd walk into the school and everyone was carrying on like everything was the same, as if nothing had changed. It made Stiles want to scream. How could he feel _so_ different and everything around him stay the same?

He slowly made his way through the crowded halls of Beacon Hills high school, counting down the days until winter break (maybe he'd actually get some decent sleep then). Stiles had spent the night before staring at the ceiling, unable to let himself fall asleep in fear of waking back up to that feeling. He was almost to his locker when he walked right into someone, causing them both to drop their books. "Fuck," Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair while crouching down to gather his things again. "I mean, sorry."

"Are you okay?" Stiles heard in response, making him lift tired eyes to see Danny standing there with a furrowed brow before bending down to pick up his own books. "You look like hell, Stilinski."

"Thanks," the teen grumbled as he stood up and continued toward his classroom only to stop and look at Danny when the other teen grabbed his arm. "What?"

"Seriously, Stiles; are you okay?" Danny's brow furrowed slightly as he watched the other teen, who was paler and skinnier than he had ever been before. He was not sure what could be going on in Stiles' life to cause such a dramatic change, but it could not be good no matter what it was.

Stiles idly wet his lips and nodded a little as he pulled back from Danny's grip. "Fine. I have to get to class."

Danny frowned a little as he watched Stiles filter away with the other students heading in the same direction. Something was very wrong, it was a nagging feeling that had been bugging him since the year before, and only grew more so after Ethan and Aiden randomly disappeared about a month before. Ethan had not even given him an explanation. He had just been _gone_. That was the least concerning bit, though. There was those freak storms a few months before, those kids that got killed, Scott and his friends all acting so weird. It was just a lot to try to figure out, but Danny could not see a connecting piece. Something told him, though, that it was all connected.

The thing that worried him the most right then was how out of it Stiles had looked. Danny had never witnessed the other teen looking that far _gone_. What made it worse, in his opinion as he watched Stiles stumble into his classroom down the hall, was that Scott was not there with the other boy. Where _was_ Scott, anyway?

* * *

"Mahealani, you're with... Stilinski," their world history teacher announced as she glanced over the assignment list, seeing who had not gotten assigned a partner for the assignment. Danny hated group or partner projects; he almost always did the work. However, glancing over to where Stiles sat, propping his head up at the back desk while looking like he was about to fall over, Danny decided that maybe it was not such a bad thing if he did most of the work that time.

The bell rang a moment later, making Stiles jump and hit his knee on the bottom side of the desk. Stiles winced and rubbed his knee with one hand while gathering his things with the other. The teen seemed completely unaware of the partner project, even as Scott came over to his desk with a sigh about how he had no idea what he and Isaac were going to do it over. Stiles hummed absentmindedly in response, picking up his backpack and pulling it up onto his shoulder as Danny walked over to the two of them. "Hey, Stilinski," Danny said, catching both Stiles' and Scott's attention as they looked to him. "Come over after school. We can start on the project."

Despite the completely confused expression on Stiles' face, he nodded and said, "Yeah, sure. See ya then."

Danny nodded with a slight smile that Stiles returned half-heartedly before turning to head out of the room with Scott. As they left, Danny thought he heard Scott ask, "Are you not sleeping again? Stiles..."

He heard the muffled sound of Stiles replying, but even as he walked after the two, he never heard exactly what Stiles was saying above the hustle and bustle of everyone else in the hallway. Danny was not sure _why_ he was suddenly so worried about Stiles; but, he guessed it had something to do with actually getting a good look at him that morning. Danny had never really paid any attention; now that he had seen how worn down Stiles appeared, though... well, it was hard to ignore.

Danny did not see McCall or Stilinski again until the last class of the day. Allison and Lydia were in the class with them, and Allison looked just as worn down as Stiles and Scott did. He did not miss the worried expression that formed on Lydia's face as she watched the three of them talking softly. Allison placed her hand on the back of Stiles' neck, squeezing gently as she tangled the fingers of her other hand with Scott's. "We've been through harder stuff than this," Allison said quietly as Danny walked by to head to his own desk. Allison had a smile on her face that did not quite reach her eyes, and Danny wondered if she believed her own words.

Stiles sighed softly and offered Allison a faint smile with a nod. "Yeah, you're right. We can handle this," he stated, his voice sounding a lot more unsure than Danny thought that Stiles had meant.

Scott did his best to ignore that, though, and gave the other two one of those completely blissful smiles that he was known to be able to produce at the drop of the hat. Just then, the bell rang and the three of them went their separate ways (though Scott and Stiles sat at desks next to one another), Allison crossing the room to sit by Lydia.

Danny found himself subtly watching Stiles throughout the lesson, not that Stiles would have really noticed even if he had been _staring_ because of how out of it the other boy was. The teacher wasn't even really saying much that was useful or needed to be written down (it was all covered in the reading they were supposed to do), yet Stiles' pencil was almost constantly moving. Maybe he was using the constant motion to keep himself awake. Danny had done that before himself, scribbled circles all over his notebook to keep awake in Harris' class after a middle-of-the-week party at Jackson's the night before.

When the bell to release them from class rang once again, Danny was the one to jump. It took Scott resting a hand on Stiles' shoulder for the other teen to blink several times and look up at his best friend. Stiles said something that Danny could not hear over the rest of the classroom moving around, but he quickly closed the notebook he had been writing in and he shoved it into his backpack before starting to walk out of the classroom with Scott. He was almost to the door when his steps halted and he turned back around to look for Danny. When he spotted the other teen heading his way, he said, "I can come by in about an hour. I've an errand to run first."

"That's fine," replied Danny with a slight nod, brow furrowing a little once Stiles turned to walk off again. He really wished he knew what was going on, and only partially because he did not like being in the dark. Honestly, he really just found himself worried about Stiles, which was something completely new. Since when did he worry about _Stiles Stilinski_?

Danny quickly shrugged it off and started to walk to his locker so he could get all of his homework for the evening. Once that was done, he waved good-bye to some of his friends and started to leave the school, texting Jackson as he went. _**School sucks when you're not here. :( **_

He was not sure if Jackson would even reply to the message, but like always, it was hit-or-miss with what you would get a response to when it came to Jackson. So, Danny was not too worried about it as he climbed into his car, tossing his backpack into the passenger seat. The drive home was rather uneventful compared to the rest of his day; he just tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel while listening to the radio.

There was no one home when he got to the house, but that did not surprise him any. His sisters were freshmen that year (twins, born ten minutes apart), and often Clara and Jessica were known to go over to friends' houses after school. They didn't want rides from Danny, even though they were going to the same house; but, it was whatever. He probably would not want to be seen with his older brother if he had one.

Since he had the house to himself, Danny had no problems turning the television onto one of the recap shows for football while grabbing a snack and a drink before starting on his homework. He sat in the living room instead of his bedroom that day so that he could listen for Stiles getting there. Danny's focus was half on his homework, and half on the game playing on the television, which was why by the time the doorbell rang, Danny was barely even done with his English assignment. Danny sighed and absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair as he got up and walked over to the door. Once there, he unlocked it and opened it to find Stiles there, drinking out of a can of Rockstar Energy Drink

Danny highly doubted the other teen needed that, but he bit his tongue to keep from commenting as he stepped aside to let Stiles in. "Hey," Danny said, slightly awkwardly. It was more than awkward to have Stiles in his house. Growing up together, they knew where one another lived; but, neither boy had ever been _in_ each others' homes. "Uh, we can start working at the table there." Danny nodded toward the coffee table, where the rest of his homework was sprawled out.

"Cool," replied Stiles with a nod before going over to take a seat on the couch, placing his own backpack at his feet with another drink out of the can in his hand. Danny followed to sit down in one of the empty spots on the couch, and he gathered his English assignment to set aside as he did. The teen then pulled out his stuff for world history, while Stiles did the same. "So, uh, what exactly is this assignment over?"

"The Salem witch trials, and similar events worldwide," replied Danny, his brow lifting a little when Stiles let out a small bark of laughter in response. "Something funny?"

"Just life." Stiles sighed and shook his head a little, setting aside the drink can in a space near the middle of the table so that it was not likely he would knock it over later. "Poster board or PowerPoint?"

"Were you just not paying any attention at all?"

Stiles shook his head a little with another heavy sigh and a shrug of his shoulders while using his free hand to ruffle the hair at the back of his head. The response was something so very unlike the studious teen that Danny had always known. "Nah, I was kind of out of it," he admitted with another shrug, dropping his hand to his side.

Danny sighed inaudibly, taking a drink out of his water glass before answering, "PowerPoint. You really look like shit, Stilinski. Maybe you should actually sleep tonight instead of playing video games all night with Scott." Danny was pretty sure that whatever was keeping Stiles awake was more complex than video games, but it wasn't _really _his business, and if Stiles did not want to explain, then that was about as far as Danny was getting to pushing.

A very faint smile tugged upward on Stiles' lips as he glanced over at Danny. "Yeah. Probably a good idea." Stiles nodded a little, smiling slightly once again, though the action never quite reached his eyes. "C'mon, let's figure this shit out so I can stop annoying you."

"You're not annoying me," Danny replied honestly, though he flipped through his history book to the place in the chapter that would be most beneficial for them to start on. Stiles was definitely not annoying him that afternoon; worrying him, sure, but not annoying. Stiles was so still that it was unnerving, and though a part of him was sure he should probably be glad for the quieter version of Stiles, it really just made him worry that something was seriously wrong with him. What could be so bad that Mister Jokes-and-Sarcasm could barely even manage a smile?

Stiles watched Danny for a moment, quietly as if he was trying to make sense of what Danny had just stated. He had not thought it was that confusing of a comment. After a moment, though, Stiles shrugged and said, "Either way. Let's do this."

After that, their homework session was spent without conversation that wasn't related to the topic save for a snack break in which Danny stole a couple of his sisters' Capri-Suns from the fridge to share with Stiles. After that break, though, they found themselves talking about winter break and lacrosse in the spring semester. Stiles was smiling and laughing a little more than Danny had seen in a long while. He was almost starting to think that maybe things weren't as bad as he had thought, but after a while, Stiles started to space out a little. "Are you okay?" Danny asked with a furrowed brow.

"Hmm...? Oh, yeah, 'm fine," Stiles replied with a nod, running a hand through his hair as he stood up. "Yeah, I think I just... I need some air." Stiles nodded again, his brow furrowing a little. "I feel kinda dizzy."

"Wha-?" Danny barely got the sound out before he noticed Stiles slumping forward. He rushed over to catch the other boy before he actually hit the ground. "Stiles? Shit."

* * *

"I called his dad already," Danny told his parents as they stood in the hallway of the hospital. Danny had not known what else to do when Stiles passed out in his living room, and then he did not wake back up, though Danny tried. The sheriff had not answered the call from Danny, but he was sure the hospital would be calling him to let him know soon enough. The teen had one arm crossed over his chest, and the other hand was up by his mouth so he could absentmindedly chew on his thumbnail. "He's going to be okay, right?"

Whatever Danny's mother had to say in response went unheard by the teen as his attention was brought to the sound of someone rushing down the hallway while hurriedly (yet politely) telling people to move out of the way. He saw Melissa McCall quickly heading their direction, and she passed the small family by only to turn into the door of Stiles' room behind Danny. Curiously, Danny turned to follow her into the room and lingered near the door-way where he could see Melissa asking the other nurses to move aside. "He's fine," Melissa insisted with a smile that Danny did not believe. "Just low blood sugar is all. I know how to handle this."

She nodded and waited for the other medical staff to leave before she ran a hand through the teen's hair in a motherly fashion, something that Danny knew the other teen had not really had in several years. "Stiles, sweetheart," Melissa said in a warm yet firm voice, which made Danny's brow furrow. Stiles was completely out of it. How did she think that would work? He wondered briefly if he should step away, almost feeling like he was witnessing something he should not have been; but, he found himself unable to move. "I know you can hear me, and I need you to listen. _Wake up_, Stiles. Your father's on the way. You're just lucky I haven't told Scott yet. This wouldn't happen if you would just sl-" Melissa cut off with a soft sigh through her nose and a shake of her head as she reached over for the pitcher of water next to the bed. She poured it into one of the styrofoam cups, which Danny found was odd, before quickly upturning it over the other teen's face.

With the splash of cold water, Stiles started awake, his eyes snapping open as he suddenly seemed to struggle for air as if he was having a panic attack. The other boy's fingers curled into the sheets beneath his hand as Melissa's hands rested on his shoulders and she calmly started trying to talk him down. "Just breathe with me Stiles, you're okay," Melissa stated, nodding a little before focusing on just taking steady breaths. "There you go. Breathe." Melissa then seemed to collapse on the edge of Stiles' bed, pulling him into a tight hug, one hand shifting through his hair like it had been earlier.

Danny swore he heard her mumbling something about not doing things like that to her, and how he needed to sleep, that he couldn't keep going until he passed out like that again. They would figure something out, she promised. At least, that was what Danny thought she said. He was a bit too distracted watching Stiles, who was staring at him with blood-shot eyes over Melissa's shoulder as he returned the hug tightly. Stiles lifted his head a little and wet his lips as if he was going to say something, but Danny simply nodded with a faint smile and took a step back. No matter what was going on (and Danny was _so _confused), at least Stiles seemed to be okay, even more so as the sheriff rushed by asking questions. "I'm fine, Dad," Stiles replied in a slightly hoarse voice. "I just... I'll be fine."

Danny walked farther away from the door with his parents as Linden Stilinski kept asking his son questions. The teen wanted to go ask the other boy some of his own, but he kept walking instead. The entire time, he could not get the completely haunted look that had been on Stiles' face out of his head, while trying to deny the urge to be the one to get rid of it.

Everything would just go back to normal in the morning, and it would be like nothing ever happened. At least, that was what Danny tried to tell himself as he finally checked the text from Jackson that had come in sometime during the ambulance ride from his house to the hospital. _**Miss you too.**_


	2. Chapter 2

It haunted him, that look that had been on Stiles' face. Danny saw it in his dreams that night, even. He almost forgot about it the next morning until he was at school and realized that Stiles was not there. Danny spotted Scott looking somber next to Isaac at the curly-haired boy's locker, and he went over to the two of them. "How's Stiles?" he found himself asking before he could stop himself. Scott seemed confused as to why Danny was asking, making the goalie roll his eyes. "Stiles was at my place when he passed out last night." Danny figured that by that point Scott had learned of his best friend's trip to the ER.

Scott seemed more relaxed once he realized that Danny had an actual reason for being curious about how Stiles was. Danny was more concerned than curious, but Scott did not need to know that. "Oh, yeah. He's fine now. Blood sugar just dropped too low. Linden wanted to give him the day off, though," Scott explained with a nod that Isaac mirrored, as if both of them insisting it made it more of the truth.

Danny honestly just did not buy the whole blood sugar thing. Stiles had consumed an energy drink, Capri-Suns, and some cookies. There was no way the other boy's loss of consciousness was related to food intake; especially when Allison and Scott did not look too much better than Stiles did. "Okay," was the only response Danny gave, however, before he walked away from the duo. As he went, Danny pulled out his phone and sent another text to Jackson. _**Things are so messed up here, dude. Dunno what to do.**_

He was almost to the classroom he needed to be at when the incessant vibrating of his phone (indicating a call), made him duck into an empty room along the way. "What d'you mean?" Jackson asked in a gruff, slightly slurred voice, as if he had just woken up, when Danny answered the call.

Danny let out a heavy breath and sat on top of a desk as he told Jackson everything. He told Jackson about the odd deaths, about Ethan and Aiden's disappearance, Erica and Boyd's accidental deaths (which no one seemed to have any real information on), the others' odd behaviors. Jackson remained quiet the entire time that Danny spoke. After a minute of silence when Danny finished speaking, Jackson sighed heavily, and Danny could hear the sounds of him moving around whatever room he was in. "So, the Scooby gang's weirder than ever," replied Jackson, trying not to show much emotion at the shock he felt for the news of Boyd and Erica's deaths. Last he had heard from Derek, Boyd was back. He seemed to not want to talk about that part of what Danny had said, however. "There's not much I can do from here, dude."

"Scooby gang?" Danny's brow lifted slightly at the term, trying to figure out just why Jackson would choose that specific term to call Stilinski, McCall, and the others.

"Yeah, it's... never mind. I've gotta go. Get to class, you're late."

As Jackson hung up without waiting for a response, the tardy bell rang, making Danny jump a little. How had Jackson known that the bell was about to ring? Was he that in tune to the school's schedule and the time difference? Danny did not think his best friend was that aware of things, but it was the only explanation he could think off. Shrugging it off, Danny sighed but headed to his class.

* * *

Stiles was given some low-dose, non-habit forming sleep aids from Melissa after his trip to the hospital. With them, he slept through the night without many intense nightmares, as had become the norm. There were still nightmares, but not ones that woke him up or had him crying out in his sleep. When he finally woke up that day, it was almost noon, and Stiles felt as though he were nursing a hangover.

The teen stumbled down to the kitchen, where he found a note on the coffee pot from his father. '_No coffee. Just hot chocolate or tea. See you at 7. -Dad_' Stiles was sure he would be able to manage to make a pot of coffee without his dad finding out, but at the same time, he really did not want to push his luck. He was feeling better that day, though still a little drowsy. With a sigh, Stiles decided to make himself some tea, and afterward he sat curled up on the couch watching one of the random comedy movies that he had recorded to watch when he got the time in order to have something to do besides research.

Stiles figured he probably have been on the computer, learning as much as he could about the nemeton and emissaries, and possible foes they may face due to Beacon Hills becoming a beacon once again. At the same time, though, he finally felt _calm _for the first time since it had happened, and he really did not want to disrupt that by research. It was just a good, calm day where he could rest and recharge a bit. He would return to school the next day, prepare for finals, and continue on with his life as if nothing had happened. It was not like anyone would really have noticed his absence outside of the people who already knew why he was not there.

He was so intently focused on the movie that was playing on the television that he had not heard someone pull up into the drive or realized that he was not alone until there was someone knocking on the door, making Stiles jump and nearly fall off of the couch in surprise. The teen took a few steadying breaths as he sat there, closing his eyes for a moment before he stood up and went to answer the door. He had no idea who it could have been (Scott was at work, and Allison was training with Isaac and her father, and Lydia would have let him know she was coming over and to leave the door unlocked), so his brow furrowed a little as he actually opened the door.

The expression on his face changed to one that was nothing short of complete surprise and confusion when he found _Danny _standing on his front porch. "Oh, uh, hi," Stiles said awkwardly, reaching up to ruffle the hair on the back of his head. "Is, uh... Can I help you?"

"Are you okay?" Danny asked after a moment, and when Stiles opened his mouth to respond, the goalie continued on to say, "And don't spurt that low blood sugar crap at me again, because we _both _know that was not an issue last night."

"I... It's... I'm fine." Stiles stumbled over his words, though he did step aside to let Danny into the house. He shut the door and absently bit at the thumbnail of one hand as he walked back over toward the couch. "Just... Don't worry. I'm fine."

Danny's brow lifted in disbelief as he dropped his bag onto the floor near the couch, sitting down next to where Stiles had settled down without even realizing it. "You look like death, Stiles," replied Danny as he rested his elbows on his knees and studied the other teen. "Weird shit has been going on in this town, and now this... You passed out in my arms, dude. I just... I really don't think you're as okay as you're saying, and I want to make sure you will be."

"Why?" Stiles' brow furrowed as he idly toyed with one of the strings on his hoodie's hood, glancing over at Danny out of the corner of his eye. They weren't friends by any means. They were partners on a school assignment and gone to the same school in the same grade since kindergarten. That did not mean they were friends, nor had they ever really been. Stiles had always been too loud, too hard to keep up with.

"You were suddenly dropping to the floor _in my living room_, pretty sure that justifies a reason." Okay, so Danny was not entirely sure why he was so worried about Stiles' well being, but he was. He did not want to see the other teen just _fall_ like that ever again. It was probably one of the scariest things that he had ever witnessed, and he did not think he could handle that another time.

Stiles worried at his lower lip, which looked as though it was nearly split (probably from Stiles doing just that to it), keeping his eyes trained on his hands where they were resting on his legs. "My dad said you rode with me to the hospital," replied Stiles in a small voice. Honestly, he had been completely unaware. He only vaguely remembered waking up in the hospital, too. He was pretty sure he had seen Danny, but that could have just been because his father had mentioned that Danny had not left until after he had woken. Everything about that night (even before he finally collapsed) was a major blur to him.

Danny nodded a little, and it was only then that Stiles realized that the other teen had been watching him closely the entire time. It was a little unnerving. "I wanted to make sure you would be okay. I had to see for myself." Danny shrugged as though it was not a big deal, as though it did not mean anything. Of course, Stiles was not sure it really did mean anything; it just felt like it did. What it meant, though, was something that Stiles was unsure of.

"I can't tell you," Stiles said quietly after a couple more moments, shaking his head a little before fully looking over at Danny. "I'll be okay, though; back at school tomorrow. S'all you need to know."

The other teen sighed heavily, as though he did not believe Stiles; but, after a moment, Danny nodded, absentmindedly wetting his lips. "Yeah, alright." He did not like it, wanted to know what was happening, but he knew that continuing to press the issue was not going to get him anyway. Stiles was more stubborn than Jackson on a bad day. "I brought your homework."

Stiles' eyes widened slightly in surprise at that statement as he watched Danny pull a few notebooks and textbooks out of his backpack that Stiles recognized as his own. He placed them on the coffee table. "The new English teacher wants you to pick a novel to read and do an essay on. No requirements past the book has to be over 10,000 words."

The usually talkative teen nodded a little and remained quiet through most of Danny explaining the different assignments he had brought with him. The two of them talked about their history project some as well, until the sheriff came home at seven like he had told Stiles in the note. Linden's brow rose ever so slightly as he hung his jacket up on the rack in the entrance hall when he spotted Stiles and Danny sitting on the living room couch. "Hello, boys," he stated, crossing his arms while walking into the living room. "Homework?"

"Mm-hmm," replied Stiles with a nod, writing down a quick note on something for them to do for their project before looking up at his father. "Danny brought me me assignments from the day."

"I figured Scott would..."

Stiles waved a hand dismissively and grabbed his tea again to take the final few dregs of the drink before explaining, "He's at work."

"Right." The sheriff then nodded and started to walk toward the kitchen. "Danny, are you joining us for dinner?"

The man called the words over his shoulder as he went, not really looking back any. Danny seemed to be stuck on exactly how to answer as he looked toward Stiles, who shrugged in response. He did not care whether Danny stayed or not. It was not like Danny was terrible company when he wasn't pressuring Stiles for answers he could not give. What surprised him the most was the fact that Danny seemed to be contemplating it. Surely Danny had better things to do with his evening than spend it with the class weirdo and his father. "If that's okay," Danny answered after another moment.

Linden stated that it was more than okay as he started to gather things from the fridge to actually make dinner, something that had grown more common in the Stilinski household since the sheriff had gotten in the know. He tried harder to make sure he and Stiles had at least one night a week where they sat down and had a meal together like they used to. It seemed to be the best thing, as none of them had any idea what could happen the next day with their lives so entangled into the supernatural.

The two teens continued to work on homework (Danny even helped Stiles with his calculus and chemistry homework) while Linden was in the kitchen. He had changed into street clothes sometime after starting to cook dinner, and before he went into the living room to tell the teens that dinner was finished. It was odd to see Stiles sitting on the couch next to someone that was not Scott, but at the same time, the man was glad that his son seemed to at least be getting along with someone who was not the teen he was attached at the hip to. "Dinner's done," Linden stated from the doorway, his sudden voice causing Stiles to start and nearly fall off the couch for the second time that day. It was more common than Linden would like to admit.

"Thanks, dad," replied Stiles with a smile before taking a deep breath to steady himself. Then, he smiled at Danny in a way that reminded the goalie of Stiles before he started to get all worn down by..._something_. It was nice. "C'mon. Let's get food, then you can help me finish this last equation."

"Yeah, alright," said Danny as he stood up with the other teen and the two of them headed toward the kitchen with Linden, whom Danny thanked for letting him stay there for dinner.

Linden waved a hand dismissively in a manner that reminded Danny instantly of Stiles. "It's no problem," he replied, sounding a lot more casual about it than he felt. As much as he was thankfully that his son had Scott as a friend, it did his heart good to see Stiles at least trying to make other friends at the same time. At least, Linden hoped that Stiles was trying to make a new friend.

The three of them talked as they ate, mostly about different sports games and the upcoming lacrosse season, until Stiles and Danny returned to their homework so Stiles could get that last equation done. Stiles was yawning every few moments as they worked, ruffling his hair and stretching his back while seemingly trying to keep himself awake enough to follow what Danny was attempting to explain. Danny found it a bit distracting, to be honest.

In what felt like no time at all, though, Danny was heading back out to his car while telling Stiles that he would see him tomorrow. Stiles had simply nodded in response with a slight smile as Danny walked off the front porch before shutting and locking the front door.

The next morning, Danny was talking to one of the guys on the lacrosse team when Stiles, Scott, Isaac, Allison, and Lydia came into the school. Isaac and Stiles were talking quietly amongst themselves, Isaac's hand on Stiles' shoulder, while Lydia walked with a purpose, as if there was something she needed to go fix. "I dunno," Danny heard Stiles say quietly as they passed. "Just something's wrong. It wasn't a normal nightmare."

"I agree with Stiles," Allison said a little louder than she probably needed to, making Danny wonder if she could hear herself at the moment. "I had the same dream."

"Wait, what?" questioned Isaac, and then they were gone around a corner, leaving Danny with a furrowed brow as he leaned slightly to one side in an futile attempt to try and hear what they continued to say.

After that, Danny did his best to forget what little, uninformative things that he had heard from the other teens and he focused on school. It was not until lunch that he remembered it, as he sat down at his table and watched Stiles practically dozing off on Scott's shoulder where they sat across the room. Scott looked as though he was about to drop, as well, while Allison sipped on a coffee that Danny was not sure how she had gotten. He was startled out of his thoughts when suddenly Lydia was sitting down in front of him. "You don't want to know, Danny," Lydia stated, crossing her arms so that her elbows were on the table as she leaned forward. "Stiles told me about you asking him what's going on." Which, of course he had; everyone had noticed that Stiles and Lydia were actually _friends_ by that point, after Stilinski had stopped worshiping the ground she walked on. "Just trust me, you don't want to know. You're better off not knowing. Focus on school, your friends, your social life; but, just stop trying to figure this out."

The goalie could not keep from lifting his brow a little, leaning forward enough to mirror Lydia's stance as he said, "If you haven't noticed, Lydia, I don't really have any actual _friends _since this weirdness all started and Jackson left, and then Ethan up and disappeared." Sure, Danny was popular, and he could have anybody he wanted to hang out with whenever he wanted. That did not make any of those people his actual friend, however. He had never had anyone that actually _knew_ him outside of Jackson, and Ethan was starting to, but that did not last, obviously.

Lydia's face pinched slightly at the mention of Ethan, probably remembering her little fling with Aiden, who had left with his twin, supposedly. "The twins were bad news, anyway." Lydia appreciated their heroics there toward the end, but when it really came down to it. They killed Boyd, they had forced Derek to kill Boyd when the person responsible for Ennis' death was Deucalion. That was not something she could really look past, though she had honestly tried there for a while. It wasn't until Stiles had finally snapped and called the twins out on their behavior that Lydia really came to her senses about the whole thing. The twins had not so much just up and left as they were given no other options.

They had enough to worry about with Peter lurking around to have to keep track of murderous twins. "What do you mean by that, Lydia? Ethan was nice," replied Danny with a faint frown as he picked up the apple on his tray to toy with, mostly as a way to slightly distract him from the conversation at hand.

"Yeah, a nice guy who locked Isaac in a closet after figuring out he's claustrophobic and setting him up for a fight he had not taken place in. Which, of course, did not warrant Isaac actually beating him up on that cross country trip. Then again, at that point, we had thought that the twins had seriously injured a... well, almost friend. More of a reluctant ally, really." Lydia tilted her head to one side slightly as she spoke, thinking over the words as she said them. They revealed just enough, she thought, without telling too much.

Danny dropped the apple in his hand back onto the tray and looked over to the other table, where it seemed like Isaac was trying his hardest not to look in their direction and focus on his conversation with Scott and Allison. "He wouldn't do that," replied Danny in a small voice.

"Oh, but he did. Aiden helped, and I tried to do the whole blind eye to it thing; but, I'm glad he's gone." Lydia waved her hand dismissively before smiling softly at Danny, reaching over to gently squeeze his arm. "All you need to know, Danny, is that things are... rough now, but they'll get better. We're handling it."

"You're 'handling it'. Lydia, it sounds like some sort of gang." Danny's brow rose as Lydia simply chuckled in response and flashed a brilliant grin.

Without another word, Lydia got up and went over to the table where Stiles and the others were sitting. Isaac immediately looked to her and started to ask quiet questions that Danny could not hear over the din of the cafeteria. Lydia simply squeezed Isaac's shoulder before taking a seat at the table next to Stiles, who immediately shifted to rest his head on her shoulder instead of Scott's. Danny watched as Lydia absentmindedly lifted a hand to shift her fingers through Stiles' hair. They were an odd bunch, Danny realized not for the first time, and he only had more questions than he had answers. It was frustrating.

He wanted to _know_. His thoughts were slightly derailed when after a moment, Stiles' eyes landed on him from across the room, that completely haunted expression on his face again as his friends continued to talk around them. It took all of Danny's self-restraint to not cross the room and pull Stiles into a fierce hug, even as Stiles turned his eyes away. With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Danny ran a hand through his hair and pulled out his cell phone to send a text to Jackson. _**Wish you were here.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Danny was starting to get really tired of being so out of the loop by the end of the week, the last day of finals. Stiles looked as though he was going to snap on someone, and Scott could barely keep his eyes open. Allison looked as though the only thing that was keeping her awake was the 5-Hour Energy that Danny had seen her chug as she walked into the school. Lydia seemed like she was struggling to keep it together, and Isaac seemed seconds away from jumping out of his skin. They stood near the end of the hallway, where their shared homeroom was. Allison and Isaac were talking quietly while Scott leaned against Allison. Stiles' hands shook as he blinked at the floor, obviously not paying attention to a word that Lydia was rambling to him.

Stiles was the first one to look up as Danny walked over to them, a frown folding his features as his brow furrowed. He knew what Danny wanted, but was still unsure as to whether or not telling the goalie would be a good thing. It could make him safer, or put him in more danger. Stiles did not want to put him into more danger. He opened his mouth to say something to Danny, only to freeze when both Scott and Isaac suddenly perked up and their attentions snapped to the front doors of the school. "What?" Stiles asked in a quiet voice that neither one seemed to be able to hear, though Danny did.

"What the...?" mumbled Isaac before the front door burst open and Jackson came striding through as if he had not been missing all year.

Everyone in the hall stopped to stare, several of them (Lydia included) dropping their books, as they watched Jackson make his way toward the principal's office. Jackson saw the little group at the end of the hall and simply raised a brow at them as he turned into the office and then shut the door behind him. The murmuring filled the hallway almost instantly, people trying to figure out why Jackson was back and just where he had gone. Danny felt sick. He was not entirely sure why, but something told him that if Jackson was back, no good would come from it.

Danny's attention then turned back to Stiles, whose brow was furrowed as he clenched and unclenched his fingers in an attempt to keep them from shaking. "Stiles?" Scott asked before Danny could even get a word out.

"I'm fine," he replied with a tired sigh, running both hands through his hair. "Didn't sleep well last night, but I'm fine." Stiles nodded a couple of times, wincing as the bell rang for class, sounding louder than it needed to. "Can we just go to class, now?" Stiles started to lead the others toward homeroom, but stopped when Danny gently grabbed his arm. Stiles turned to look at the other teen with a soft sigh. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk?" questioned Danny with a slight frown. He would definitely be talking to Jackson later, but he also wanted to talk to Stiles.

Stiles absentmindedly wet his lips, glancing over to where the others disappeared around the corner. "Yeah. Tonight, come over so we can finish that stupid project and we can talk then."

Danny seemed to be contemplating something as he wet his lips absentmindedly before he shook his head slightly. Stiles' brow furrowed a little and Danny let out a heavy breath while Stiles' friends watched them from the doorway further down the hall. "I'm tired of not knowing what the hell is going on here, Stiles," Danny said, quiet enough that any of the passing students could not hear him, but he knew Stiles could. "You can either tell me now, or I'll figure it out on my own." He already knew where to start looking. After all, Stiles had stolen that report out of his backpack for a reason. He was not entirely sure what he would find if he delved a little deeper into his assignment, but it was a start.

The other teen ran a hand through his hair a few times, brow furrowing a little as he glanced over to where Scott and the others stood. Scott shook his head a little, but Allison nodded while Isaac lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Stiles almost laughed at the complete lack of help, but he simply sighed once again and he grabbed Danny's forearm, gently pushing him toward the door to start to lead him out. "Let's go then. School is not the place for this conversation."

* * *

"This is the Hale house," was Danny's first comment when he finally realized where Stiles had taken him. Stiles simply looked over his shoulder and nodded before continuing into the house. Danny let out a heavy breath, staring up at the windows before finally going up the steps and following Stiles inside. "Why are we _here _Stiles?"

"Kate Argent was killed here," Stiles explained from another room while Danny stopped and bent down to examine what looked like claw marks on the floor. Danny reached down to run his fingers over the lines before quickly pulling his hand away and straightening back up. "Eight Hales were killed here by Kate; and, Peter Hale was left lost inside his head until our sophomore year."

Danny's brow furrowed a little as he followed the sound of Stiles' voice into what looked like it used to be the living room. There were broken pieces of furniture and wood everywhere; some of it did not look like it was because of the fire that everyone knew about. "Stiles, does this have a _point_?" Danny asked, looking around the room a little more before his eyes settled on Stiles.

The other teen looked even more pale and exhausted than he had looked at the school. Stiles was idly toying with a small blade with weird symbols etched into the side of it. It scared Danny that Stiles seemed so relaxed with it. "Kate and the Argents, they're supposed to follow a code. _We hunt those who hunt us_; but, Kate, she didn't care. She used Derek to destroy the Hales simply because they existed."

"Stiles, you're not making any sense," sighed Danny with a shake of his head.

Stiles let out a heavy breath and lifted his shoulders in a tired shrug. "You're going to think I'm crazy."

"I already think you're crazy. What's going _on_ Stiles?" Danny's voice was curt and exasperated, but Stiles seemed undeterred and not likely to speed up his explanation.

Instead, Stiles just seemed to watch Danny for several long minutes. "Werewolves," Stiles said in a steady voice that practically sent a chill down Danny's spine. "Scott, Isaac, Derek, Cora, Jackson, Ethan, Aiden... they're all werewolves. So were Erica and Boyd. Allison and her father are hunters, but they've adopted a new code. _We protect those that cannot protect themselves_. Personally, I prefer this code." Danny said nothing. He just stared at Stiles as Stiles continued to toy with the blade in his hand. "At the beginning of the semester, Julia Baccari... who we knew as Jennifer Blake, made several human sacrifices to make herself strong enough to destroy a pack of werewolves. She was going to kill my father, Chris Argent, and Melissa McCall.

"Allison, Scott, and I couldn't let that happen. So, some magic crap happened and we died sorta but came back and now there's a beacon lit for all the supernatural to come _here_. We're not exactly the same anymore. Something about a door, or a jar, or whatever and needing anchors in the darkness and I just... Well, yeah, no that's my personal struggle now and not anyone elses' business. But, yes, werewolves, hunters, kanimas. You'll have to ask Jackson about the whole kanima thing."

Danny just kind of stared dumbstruck at Stiles still. He wanted to call Stiles out on his shit, to comment on how ridiculous that all sounded. However, before Danny could say a word, Jackson came stalking into the room. "Stilinski, what are you _doing_?" Jackson demanded as he took the knife out of Stiles' hands despite the other teen's protest. "What did you tell him?"

"What he deserves to know," Stiles snapped with a glare, shoving Jackson away from him. "Just because you're all fang-y now doesn't mean you get to boss me around, Jackson. You're still just a _beta_."

Danny swore that his best friend's eyes flashed a cold, brilliant blue just then with a scowl on his face as he stared at Stiles. "Beta or not, it's not your place to decide what Danny knows."

"No, it's Danny's place! He wants to know, so I'll suck it up and tell him unlike _you_." Stiles did not so much as flinch when Jackson let out a low growl that had Danny tensing in fear, his flight or fight response starting to kick in. "I've kept quiet for this long because he's _your _best friend; but, if you're going to continue to leave him here, in the dark when things could _kill_ him because he's unaware, then... I'm not going to just sit idly by and let that be my fault."

As much as Danny wanted to laugh in Stiles' face, to tell him that he was crazy and to ask Jackson what was really going on, there was a bitterness to Stiles' voice, a tone that led Danny to believe without any doubts that Stiles was trying to tell him the truth. _Werewolves_ were a thing. That was. No, that actually made a lot of sense when he put it into perspective. "Right, so, are you two done fighting now? Because I'd really like to get back to this whole _werewolves are real_ thing," Danny said after clearing his throat, making both Jackson and Stiles look toward him as he rose his brow a little.

Jackson turned to glare at Stiles again, who simply shrugged and stilled the knife in his hand. "Yeah, so, that's the big secret," Stiles said with a slight shrug and a tired sigh. "There's more to it than that, some stuff that Jackson needs filled on as well because things happened while he was hiding away in London."

"I wasn't hiding away," Jackson growled lowly through clenched teeth, his eyes flashing blue once again.

"Right. Whatever. Coping at a distance. Who cares, you were _gone _and we could have used your help, dude. Everything's fucked up. Something's coming. Something bad." Stiles seemed to shudder a little at the words, and his brow furrowed as he tightened his grip on the knife's handle. Danny wanted to ask why Stiles _had _the knife out in the first place; but, then, he guessed what with all Stiles had managed to share so far and the completely ominous feeling the house gave, it was not completely unwarranted to want protection.

Jackson rolled his eyes and huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What did I miss then, Stilinski?"

Danny listened quietly as Stiles started to retell about Jennifer, or Julia (whatever her name was), and everything that had happened since Jackson left. He told them about how Lydia was a banshee and Scott was a "true alpha" (whatever that meant). He talked about Kali and the alphas, Ethan and Aiden _killing Boyd and Erica_. Danny thought he was going to be sick. He remembered what Lydia had told him about Ethan's role in being terrible to Isaac, but that was nothing compared to the fact that he had helped kill some of the kids that Danny had gone to school with. "_Oh, my god,_" Danny breathed out, closing his eyes for a moment as he ran a hand over his face, which made him completely miss the worried look that Stiles sent his way. "And none of you thought to tell me this sooner?"

There was an edge to his voice that made Stiles flinch as Danny lowered his hand again, scowling as he looked between the other two teens. "It was supposed to be Jackson's call," Stiles replied in a small voice that made him seem even younger than he already looked. "I didn't want you to get involved more, to get hurt. You weren't... they weren't going to hurt _you_ because they figured out you had nothing to do with us, not really. You were safer that way."

"That's why you were asking questions about Ethan on that cross country trip." It was not a question, more of a realization. Danny felt so _blind_ seeing as everything had literally been right there in front of him the entire time. He had just chosen to not see or believe it. "Something caused Ethan to freak out that night, didn't it? Something not normal?"

Stiles nodded a little, worrying at his lower lip while ducking his head a little. The usually talkative teen then quietly explained about the wolfsbane in Coach's whistle, how it had made all the werewolves hallucinate. He explained that Isaac had hidden from whatever he had seen, and how Boyd had tried to drown himself. He told them about how they managed to stop Ethan from cutting himself in half; and, then how Scott had tried to ignite himself. Stiles explained about Lydia saving him and Scott, and how all of them had slept out on the bus afterward because they'd felt safer outside and together. "We're stronger together," Stiles concluded with a slight nod, "as a pack, humans too."

"Sophomore year?" Danny asked after several long moments of silence, which made Stiles seem to relax a little at the change in subject.

The other teen wet his lips before nodding at Jackson, who remained stiff where he stood and quiet. "That, I think, Jackson should tell you."

Jackson let out a sound that almost seemed wounded as he shook his head and took a step back. "I _can't_," Jackson said in a voice that was broken and so unlike the confident tone that Danny was so used to. It made Danny take a step toward his best friend, but Jackson just took another step back before he ran out of the Hale house without looking back.

* * *

Somehow, Danny found himself at the Stilinski residence after the big reveal out at the Hale House. Danny was not completely sure that he was not in shock, but he seemed to be okay. Sort of. He still felt a little disoriented and sick to his stomach about everything that he had learned. A part of him was mad that nobody had told him before, but at the same time, a part of him understood. Danny and Stiles did not say anything as Stiles moved around the kitchen, making enough dinner for three while Danny sat at the table. The silence was not awkward or tense, more thoughtful. "Thank you," Danny finally said after Stiles was nearly done with making dinner. Stiles' brow furrowed as he turned to look at Danny, tilting his head slightly to one side. "For finally telling me."

Stiles' mouth made a small "o" of understanding before he nodded and turned back to what he was doing. "Someone needed to," was all Stiles had to say by way of explanation with a heavy sigh. He reached up with one hand to ruffle his hair before starting to make some chamomile tea, something he had taken to making of late. "We can work on our project while you're here, if you want."

The goalie started to nod in agreement, but changed his mind mid-way to shake his head as he said, "No." Stiles' hands stilled as he turned to look at Danny again, that confused and questioning expression on the other teen's face again. "No homework tonight. I could use something non-supernatural related to focus on, though."

"Oh, well... we could watch a movie or something." Stiles shrugged a little, though his brow was still slightly furrowed in confusion as he messed with his hair once again. Honestly, Stiles was not sure what to make of that. Then again, he kind of wished he'd had someone to help distract him and get him to adjust to the whole werewolves are real thing. He'd had to do that on his own, however.

"No werewolves. Or witches. Or vampires," Danny said by way of agreement, nodding a little with a slight smile that Stiles could not help but mirror.

That was how several minutes later, the two teens were sitting on the couch with bowls of the spaghetti that Stiles had thrown together, watching one of the newest Disney movies (Stiles shamelessly owned them all, okay) when the sheriff came in from work. Linden Stilinski stopped at the doorway to the living room, mid-shrug to remove his coat, when he spotted the two teens. "Hello, Danny. I didn't know you were coming over today," Linden stated, though not unkindly at all. He was honestly just surprised to see Danny there for something other than school work (though Linden was still glad for Stiles attempting to make other friends).

"Hello, sir," Danny said with one of his well-known, friendly smiles as Stiles said, "There's food in the kitchen, Dad."

Linden chuckled as he finished removing his jacket, and he shook his head a little before he went to change. Once he was, he grabbed himself a bowl of spaghetti and joined the teens on the couch, sitting on Stiles' other side and leaving his son in the middle. "Rough day at school?" Linden questioned when he realized the animation on the screen had to belong to a Disney film from the style alone. He did not believe he had seen whichever one it was yet, but with his son's tendency to use them as movies to watch when he was feeling sick or too stressed, he was sure he'd see it several times eventually.

"You could say that," Stiles said, his voice a slight mumble as he took a bite of his food. Stiles just shrugged when his father shot him a pointed look, which made the sheriff sigh with a shake of his head.

Danny set his bowl down on the arm of the couch next to him, idly twisting his fork with one hand as he said, "Stiles let me in on the big secret." He only said something because from what Stiles had explained earlier, it seemed that the sheriff already knew about the whole werewolf thing. Otherwise, Danny would not have had explained in fear of telling someone Stiles had not wanted to know. Just because _he _had gotten Stiles to tell him did not mean everyone else had or would.

Linden sighed heavily and nodded a little as he sank down on the couch a little more, lifting his feet to rest them on the coffee table after crossing his legs at the ankle. "Welcome to the club, kid," Linden replied, though his tone was tired.

The three of them continued sitting there watching the movie, putting in a second one (one of the _Star Trek_ movies, which had made Linden groan though Stiles just smiled and said "C'mon, Dad, it's a great movie and you know you love it." Danny was sure Stiles was right from the smile Linden had tried to hide), when Danny felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he did not even look at the text he had gotten as he set it on the coffee table next to his empty bowl. Later, he would read the text from Jackson. _**Can we talk?**_


End file.
